Are you sure the marriage is THAT bad?

Is your marriage really over or are you just really angry at the moment?

This is probably the weirdest question you’d expect to be asked by a divorce attorney. But there you have it. I want to know. I have had a couple of women change their minds mid-divorce and decide to end the proceeding and go back to their husbands. Both women came in and were very adamant that it was over. Then next thing I knew, they were like, “what would happen if I said forget everything?” Shortly thereafter, she and her husband were executing the Stipulation of Discontinuance.

I don’t like to play the shrink role in my client’s divorce. I want to be there for my clients, and I want to be empathetic. But I don’t want to make the decision IF you should get the divorce or not. That is your call 100%.

So, again, I ask you, are you sure the marriage is THAT bad? Isn’t there one redeeming thing about the man you can work with? Can’t you try the hanky panky just one more time? Maybe you can go off on vacation at a place for couples? Did you try counseling? Did you pray on it?

When Prince Charles divorced Diana and hooked up with Camilla, he was asked during an interview whether he had ever cheated on Princess Diana. He replied, “only once I knew that the marriage had irretrievably broken down.”

I liked the way he put it. And so I put it to prospective clients. Only come to see me if the marriage has irretrievably broken down. If there is even the thinnest thread of hope, hold on to it. Spin it. See what you can make of it.

Cause I definitely don’t want to play the shrink. And I definitely don’t want to be the heavy.